The Surefire Way to Remember You Have Enough

Here it is:

Think of Japan.

That’s it. Don’t buy new shoes. Don’t house-hunt. Don’t go to the gym. Don’t try to lose 10 pounds. Don’t surf the net for cheap plane tickets. Don’t fantasize about how great your life would be if you could just stop working for The Man. Don’t worry about how your second junk drawer needs de-cluttering, or how your kid has too many toys.

Don’t move.

You have a computer, and you’re online whenever you please. You’re dressed, and you have more clothes in your closet for tomorrow. You have clean water to drink, hot water to bathe in, access to cheap food, and freedom to move around a bit. You probably have access to an effective mode of transportation, your kids are probably in school getting a halfway-decent education, and you love and are loved in return.

It’s nearly impossible to stayed mired in the tiny dramas and obsessions of our own abundant lives when we are exposed to the undeniable horrors of other human beings’ suffering and loss.

Isn’t our journey into a simpler and more minimalist lifestyle and mind-state truly contingent on the fact that we actually do have everything we need?

Today, don’t think about what you don’t want to have, be it a garage full of junk or mortgage debt. Think about how much you do have, and send as much as you can spare to the tragedy-stricken people of Japan.

Photo: Kyodo/Associated Press